Vegetable- Raw Mango Dry Masala Curry.

“Vegetable- Raw Mango Dry Masala Curry” … a simple veggie prepared with inclusion of raw mango and ground masala to be served as side dish with roti, poori, dosa etc. .... I served it with Mooli (Radish) Dhania Masala Poories and it was simple awesome in combination … Yummilicous …

** Side dishes are always a necessity be it to be served during meals or breakfast, they go in well when served with dosa, roti, poori, parthas, sometimes even with idlies, if they are slightly thinner textured. I always try out my own mix and match of veggies and try out my own dishes and whenever I do so for lunchtimes, I see to it that I keep some aside to be served in combo for bf too, next morning. Not only does it save me time from preparing chutney but also gives variety in dishes, not to mention if it is veggie based then the same turns out to be a much more healthier option to be served with.

** During winter lots of veggies like carrots, cauliflower, green peas, radish, raw mangoes, leafy veggies etc. are in season and I always make best of those items that are available. Tried out this dry masala veggie to be served for lunch and when I checked up on taste, somehow felt, it would taste great with poori, so went ahead and prepared mooli- dhania poories and Yes! I was right, it was an awesome combination. If for any reason you do not want to serve with poori as they are deep fried, then you can opt for roti/ chapati/ parathas with the same dough too, tastes equally good.

** Here is my recipe for “Vegetable- Raw Mango Dry Masala Curry” … my style, try it it not only tastes awesome but is a healthy dish too ….

** Ingredients :

Green Peas/ Vatana : 1 cup

Carrot/ Gajjar : 1 large sized.

Cauliflower : 150 gms.

Seemebadanekayi/ Chayote Squash/ Chow Chow : 1 small sized

Raw Mango/ Kairi/ Ambuli : 1 small sized.

Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste

** Masala to be Ground :

Coconut/ Soyi/ Nariayal : ½ cup freshly grated.

Sambar Powder : 2-3 tblsp

Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder/ Mirsange Pitti/ Mirchi Powder : 1 tsp

Haldi/ Turmeric Powder : ¼ tsp

Garam Masala Powder : ¼ tsp (Optional)

** For Seasoning/ Tempering/ Pannaka/ Tadka :

Coconut Oil/ Nariyal Tel/ Narlel Tela : 1 tblsp

Mustard Seeds (Sasam/ Rai) : 1 tsp

Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 8-10 fresh leaves

** Wash and shell green peas. Peel off the skin of carrot and cut them to 2-3 inch in length medium sized strips. Similarly peel off the outer skin and cut the seemebadanekayi also into strips discarding the inner seeds. Wash, wipe dry, slice off the stem edge portion and slice the raw mango thinly discarding the inner seed. Cut the cauliflower into small sized florets. Wash, drain well and keep all the veggies separately ready aside.

** Masala to be Ground : Add coconut, sambar powder, red chilly powder, haldi powder and garam masala powder into mixer grinder and grind to a fine paste with little bit of water. The masala should thick in consistency and fine in texture. Remove and keep it aside ready. Add ½ cup of water into the grinder and mix the remnants and keep it also ready.

** Add green peas in a pan with ¼ cup of water and bring to boil, lower the heat, cover and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add in carrots and cauliflower, mix well and continue cooking for sometime, untill 50% cooked. Add seemebadanekayi and raw mango pieces, mix well, cover and cook till all are 80 % cooked adding more water only if necessary.

** Note : You can onions if desired, in which case peel them and cut lengthwise thinly. Add a little bit of oil in kadai, fry the onions till translucent and then add in the green peas and continue cooking as mentioned above. I did not add onions for personal reasons, however, I am sure it tastes excellent if added too.

** Add ground masala to the cooked veggies along with the grinder washed water and salt to taste and mix well. This is a dry masala curry, so add in extra water only if required or if desired to keep texture of curry slightly thinner (individual choice). Cook covered on medium to low heat stirring often till you see bubbles appearing on the surface of the curry. Now lower the heat to minimum and let cook while we go ahead preparing the seasoning.

** For Seasoning/ Tempering/ Pannaka/ Tadka : Heat coconut oil in a small pan, when hot add mustard seeds when they begin to crackle add curry leaves and let fry for few seconds. Pour this over the simmering curry, mix well, remove curry from fire and keep it aside covered for the flavors to seep in well. If the curry dries out a lot, you always add ½ cup of hot water and mix well just before serving, so avoid adding excess water while cooking.

** “Vegetable- Raw Mango Dry Masala Curry” is done and ready to be served. I served with “Mooli Dhania Masala Poori” and it was a great combination. Poories are my weakness and I just love them, however being deep fried due to health reasons these days one has to be careful and avoid indulging too much in them. Sure to taste great with any roti/ parathas/ dosas too or you can serve with any accompaniment of yours choice too. Remember, life is all about enjoying good food the way one desires, so just go ahead and try your way.